MOST HISTORIC VOTE

Proud and empowered Iraqis flocked to the polls Jan. 30 in their first free election in 52 years, dipping their fingers in purple ink to show they had cast their ballot. "When I heard my old mother went to vote, I knew I had to," one 23-year-old said. Even Republicans in the U.S. Congress wanted to show their solidarity: Some stained their fingers for the President's State of the Union address on Feb. 2. But Illinois Democrat Rahm Emmanuel scoffed, "As if they sacrificed?"